Utah women defeat Arizona 66-48 in Pac-12 tourney

Michelle Plouffe had 24 points and nine rebounds to help Utah beat Arizona 66-48 in the first round of the Pac-12 women's tournament on Thursday.

Plouffe had five 3-pointers for the sixth-seeded Utes (18-12), who will meet No. 14 UCLA, the third seed, in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Taryn Wicijowski scored 14 points and Iwalani Rodrigues finished with 10 points for Utah. The Utes, who committed just five turnovers on Thursday, have won eight of their last 11 games.

Davellyn White scored 23 points -- 17 in the first half -- and also had eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Wildcats (12-18). Arizona, the 11th seed, lost its last five games but did win both games against Utah in the Pac-12 regular season.